This invention relates to a facsimile apparatus and a print control method, and more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus having a printhead according to an ink-jet printing method in its printing unit and a print control method for the apparatus.
Conventionally, in a facsimile apparatus which performs printing using a printhead according to the ink-jet printing method, the number of dots printed in one scanning by the printhead is determined by the number of ink discharge nozzles arrayed in a direction vertical to a main scanning direction of the printhead.
Further, the power source capacity of the apparatus is highly dependent on the amount of electric power necessary for discharging ink droplets from the printhead.
To reduce the power source capacity in correspondence with cost down and downsizing of the apparatus, a print control (multipath printing) is made to complete a print image by performing plural times of print scanning with respect to the same area by the printhead if the printing by the printhead excesses a predetermined amount.
However, in the above conventional art, as the number of scannings with respect to the same area in multipath printing is calculated from the amount of maximum electric consumption of the apparatus, even if the power supply is sufficient and image printing can be completed only by one print scanning, print scanning may be made plural times. In this case, printing time is unnecessarily long.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus which performs optimum printing corresponding to electric consumption by dynamically changing the number of scannings in multipath printing in accordance with a printing operation mode.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing a facsimile apparatus having a printing unit capable of multipath print control using a printhead and a plurality of means for facsimile communication, requiring electric consumption, comprising: first calculation means for calculating printing duty of printing by the printhead, based on print data; second calculation means for calculating electric power which can be supplied for the printing by the printhead, based on operation statuses of the plurality of means; third calculation means for calculating a number of scannings in the multipath print control, based on the results of calculations by the first and second calculation means; and control means for controlling the printing by scanning the printhead based on the number of scannings calculated by the third calculation means.
Further, the plurality of means include: reading means for reading an original image; communication control means for transmitting/receiving facsimile image data via a communication line; and display means for displaying transmission/reception status of facsimile image data or a message.
The second calculation means calculates the electric power which can be supplied for the printing by the printhead, based on respective operation statuses of the reading means, the communication control means and the display means. Accordingly, if the communication control means and the reading means do not operate, the amount of the electric power which can be supplied to the printhead is large, while if the communication control means and the reading means operate, the amount of the electric power which can be supplied to the printhead is small.
Preferably, the printhead is an ink-jet printhead which performs printing by discharging ink. In this case, it is preferable that the ink-jet printhead includes electrothermal transducers for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink, for discharging ink by utilizing the thermal energy.
Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a plurality of mask patterns for the multipath print control. In this case, it is preferable that the control means generates a new mask pattern by combining the plurality of mask patterns, for performing printing based on the number of scannings calculated by the third calculation means.
Further, it is preferable that the apparatus further comprises scanning means for scanning the printhead, and that calculation by the first calculation means is performed based on print data used for printing with respect to an area scanned by one scanning of the printhead by the scanning means, and calculations by the second and third calculation means are performed upon each printing on the area.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing a print control method used in a facsimile apparatus having a printing unit capable of multipath print control using a printhead, a reading unit for reading an original image, a communication controller for transmitting/receiving facsimile image data via a communication line and a display unit for displaying transmission/reception status of the facsimile image data and a message, comprising: a first calculation step of calculating printing duty of printing by the printhead, based on print data; a second calculation step of calculating electric power which can be supplied for the printing by the printhead, based on operation statuses of at least the reading unit, the communication controller and the display unit; a third calculation step of calculating a number of scannings in the multipath print control, based on the results of calculations at the first and second calculation steps; and a control step of controlling the printing by scanning the printhead based on the number of scannings calculated at the third calculation step.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing object is attained by providing a computer program product, stored in a computer readable medium, which performs a print control in a computer of a facsimile apparatus including a printing unit capable of multipath print control using a printhead, a reading unit for reading an original image, a communication controller for transmitting/receiving facsimile image data via a communication line and a display unit for displaying transmission/reception status of the facsimile image data and a message, comprising: first calculation process procedure code for calculating printing duty of printing by the printhead, based on print data; second calculation process procedure code for calculating electric power which can be supplied for the printing by the printhead, based on operation statuses of at least the reading unit, the communication controller and the display unit; third calculation process procedure code for calculating a number of scannings in the multipath print control, based on the results of calculations at the first and second calculation processes; and control process procedure code for controlling the printing by scanning the printhead based on the number of scannings calculated at the third calculation process.
In accordance with the present invention as described above, upon printing by a facsimile apparatus comprising a printing unit capable of multipath print control using a printhead, a reading unit which reads an original image, a communication controller which transmits/receives facsimile image data via a communication line and a display unit which displays facsimile image data transmission/reception status or a message, printing duty of printing by the printhead is calculated based on print data, then electric power which can be supplied for printing by the printhead is calculated based on the operation statuses of the reading unit, the communication controller and display unit, then a number of scannings in the multipath print control is calculated based on the results of calculation, and printing is performed by scanning the printhead based on the calculated number of scannings.
The invention is particularly advantageous since the facsimile apparatus can perform optimum printing using electric power which can be supplied for printing by the printhead as much as possible, in consideration of operation statuses of the plurality of means, respectively consuming electric power, used for facsimile communication.
In this arrangement, in consideration of the electric consumption which changes in accordance with the operations of the plurality of means, if a large amount of electric power can be supplied to the printhead, for example, the number of scanning times in multipath print control is reduced, and printing can be performed at a high speed. In this manner, optimum printing can be performed without degrading the printing performance.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same name or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.